The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1887-08-18
For the Herald and News.
Thoughts for the Hour.

I desire to-day, kind reader, to en-
phasize a thought crudely presented in
my first paper. You will remember
that Robert Guiscard burned his ships
behind him, upon "the hostile shores''
of Illyria. Having decided what to do,
he determined that his soldiers should
not go back. Well, if we have an OBJ
jectiye point to reach-having taken
''the cup of trembling and stood in the
valley of decision''-let US likewise
break down all false barriers of re-
straint. Let US leave our cells of sell
fishness, our cloistcrs of ease and self
indulgence, our intellectual pride and
Indifference, and go forth beyond the
horizon that binds our vision, and in a
spirit of self=senial and a5Ssaeegation,
%lt 9 -Ins !1og gs'nianimity and mercy towafs all
men, that we may take part in the Titan
contest about to open. We cannot be
mere spectators, for the hour has come
when the parallel lines OF light and
darkness, virtue and vice, truth and
error, and, I write it reverently, God
and Belial, are running fiercely together
for the mastery.
1t was Lord Lytton, I think, who said:
"Woe to him who is before the age, but
a thousand woes to him who is behind
the age" Very true. Paul counselled
wisely and acted kindly, and for it was
beaten with many stripes and impris-
oned. In exercising devils he was called
a pestilent fellow and a stirrer up OF
strife. And the best revolution OF
thought-should it clash, as clash it
must and will with false pride, selfish
ness, Indifference, idolatry, intolerance
and infdelity-will bring, at least, a
spirit of censure and hyper-criticism
upon those who are in the van, while in
the "overthrow" which comes in blind
fight against 1.-The spirit of the age''
everything is lost and swept away.
God never made an independent man.
Hence it follows that concession and
compromise between men and nations
is the right principle. Yet between Coo
and man there can be no such thing as
compromise. He has established eternal
principles and truths for our highest
happiness, and happy is he who ha:
learned
''To see, to think, to read, to pray,
TO lift the latch and force the way''
into the penetralia of Omniscience, ant
will follow on and on with simple trust
and unqnestioning faith.
Paul was pioneer and fell beneath
the "scalping knife'' of thoughtless
multitude, yet Christian civilization wa:
behind him. Leitch sought to tell the
people homely truths for their edifca
ton and to wake many from their leth'
argic sleep, and they fain would silence
him. Perhaps he erred in certain par
ticulars (''to err is human, to forgive
divine'), yet not materially. His mis-
takes were of no moment to the earnes
mind in search of heroic truth.
These thoughts are Of general as vel
as local application. The science of tht
times has made all the world kindred
A calamity or cataclysm in any one part
affects the whole, so, likewise, the bet
,erment OF any condition in any section
is hailed elsewhere as triumph for tht
whole.
We are living in wonderful age o
marvellous llehr, yet there is much dark
ness, and we may we'll eXclaim:
LEAD, kindly light, amid the encirclinE
gloom,
Lead thou me on"
PETER THE HERMIT,